Sustainability
Cafresco Organics ethos is to grow healthy, nutritious organic vegetables as sustainably as possible.
The farms black friable clay soil has a high moisture and nutrient holding capacity which lends itself to sustainable vegetable growing. During the Great Depression the area that was a swampland underwent a lot of initial drainage work, today the farm has been laser graded to fill low areas and has extensive underground drainage to prevent waterlogging of the crops.
Cafresco’s annual rainfall is approx. 675mm with most falling in spring and winter. Summer temperatures average 25 C max to 13 C min with Winter 13 C max to 6 C min. Systems are in place to capture on farm water run-off which is then stored in dams for use in the warmer, drier months via irrigation.
Essential to the sustainable management of the farm is the use of farm made compost. The compost includes waste products from the farm. The temperature and moisture are regularly monitored to maximise the quality of the compost. The compost is also turned on a regular basis to improve airflow and the quality of the end product prior to spreading around the farm.
Cafresco also uses integrated pest management technology as a part of their sustainable organic practice. This management system is an alternative to pesticides which has the benefit of also providing insight into the insect world alive in the crops. This approach is multi-pronged, firstly keeping weeds that host pest insects to a minimum (minimising their habitat is essential), secondly by not using pesticides, beneficial insects are not impacted so they stay amongst the crops as a valuable control for pests.
Management of weeds in the farming of organic vegetables can present as a significant hurdle. At Cafresco weeds are controlled by timely cultivation and hand weeding when necessary. The vegetables don’t compete well with weeds so as another means to control them constant vigilance is part of the overall management, especially during the growing season in the warmer months.
Without the use of pesticides prevention of disease is essential, yearly rotation of different vegetable families is one such approach to minimise the possibility of disease. Wind damage is also a consideration, especially in the harvesting of smaller crops such as beans, to mitigate this corn is used extensively as a wind break.
Year-round planting in the fields occurs via both seeds and seedlings, modern sowing and planting machinery is utilised for optimal crop spacing and production. GPS controlled tractors are also used to keep them travelling on the designated path.
Along with asparagus, red and brown onions are Cafresco Organics core crops. Planting, harvesting and storing of the onions is carefully considered to supply the market year-round. Onions are harvested in summer and stored in well ventilated storage facilities to then be distributed throughout the year.